Switzerland vs. Ecuador World Cup Betting Odds, Prediction From BetDSI.com
Gambling911.com has your Switzerland vs. Ecuador World Cup betting odds courtesy of BetDSI.com, where you can claim up to US$2500 in FREE CASH here.
Here we have what looks on paper to be another tightly contested matchup with Switzerland a favorite at 6/4, Ecuador at 9/1 and the Draw at 2/1 odds.
This is the third time in a row Switzerland is playing in a World Cup. The Swiss failed to make it out of the Group stage four years ago.
Strengths
The Swiss should be organized at the back with keeper Diego Benaglio entrenched as the #1 guy between the sticks, and they should be set at the back with Stephen Lichtsteiner, Philippe Senderos, Johan Djourou and Ricardo Rodriguez. However, the most important player on the defense could end up being Grant Xhaka, a 21-year-old central midfielder who had a great season at Borussia Monchengladbach in Germany.
This would allow captain Gokhan Inler more room to get forward, but it would also free up Xherdan Shaqiri, a speedy winger who plays for Bayern Munich and if there are any offensive game-changers in this Swiss team, it looks like the 22-year-old. He does play a lot for Bayern, but a good tournament could push Shaqiri up to another level.
Weaknesses
Switzerland will need all the help they can get up front because they haven’t had a consistent striker up front since the retirement of Alexander Frei, who scored 42 goals to lead his country until his finale in 2011. There is a lot of pressure on 21-year-old Josip Drmic, who scored three goals in Switzerland’s first two warm-up friendly matches against Croatia and Jamaica, but can he do it when the games really matter?
The Swiss are an incredibly young team with just three players of the age of 30 (Benaglio, Lichtsteiner and defender Steve von Bergen). There is no striker older than 24, as well. The spotlight will be on the youth of the Swiss and it’ll be interesting to see how they respond.
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This is the 3rd time Ecuador has qualified for a World Cup with their last appearance being in Germany 2006.
Strengths
Ecuador’s strength is probably in the middle of the pitch, led by captain Antonio Valencia, who had an inconsistent campaign at Manchester United, but he won’t be overwhelmed by the competition. Edison Mendez has 109 caps and plenty of experience, while Christian Noboa will feature as well. Right now, Segundo Castillo is slotted in as a starter, but he suffered a leg injury in a friendly loss to Mexico, so keep an eye on his status as he will sit in front of the back four for Ecuador.
Manager Reinaldo Rueda will also count on Walter Ayovi, who plays at fullback and has been a constant throughout Ecuador’s qualifying campaign. He will try to get forward as much as possible and add another threat to their attack, although Ayovi might have to stay back and help out the defense, especially if Castillo doesn’t make the trip to Brazil. Hopefully he does, because Ecuador needs all the help they can get offensively.
Weaknesses
Striker Christian Benitez’s tragic death in a match against Qatar hurt Ecuador in more ways than one. Aside from the obvious personal reasons, it took away their best scoring option and a man that scored 24 goals, good for third all-time in Ecuador’s history, and that was only in 58 games. Now, the onus is on Felipe Caicedo, who has played all over Europe, but he can’t do it by himself. Someone like Valencia is going to have to step up from midfield. Enner Valencia is another option, but he has just nine caps for his country.
Defensively, Ecuador is prone to mistakes at times and keeper Maximo Banguera doesn’t have much experience against the type of competition he’ll see in Brazil, so that has to be a concern for Rueda.
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Here are your World Cup betting odds with the money line found at the far right.
- Ean Lamb, Gambling911.com